>> my heart goes out. and we know she's coming back. >> yeah. >> i asked her, is she as great as she seems? >> greater. >> wish her the best. fast recovery. >> can i jt say, even though you're a fan of the today show, you can still watch cbs this morning. just saying. >> i tape them all and watch them all. tomorrow wolf blitzer is here to mark the anniversary of 9/11 with rudy giuliani. that's it for tonight, thank you, guys, ac, 360 starts right now. breaking news on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a hard fought win for first responders, the men and women who were exposed to deadly toxins at ground zero. they will now have health coverage for 58 different kinds of cancer. you're looking at a live shot of lower manhattan.

rising world trade center the twin beams of light a reminder of the missing towers. tomorrow a moment of pause. the new one world trade center stands nearly 1400 feet high and each year the site moved a step closer repair and rebuilding but of course the pain never goes away. nearly 3,000 lives were lost on that morning. the unspeakable unfolding as millions watched. but the toll did not end there. the toxic pile of rubble on those 16 acres smoldered for three months. many first responders and others who worked there around the clock got sick, some have already died. today's decision to expand the law, has been fighting for where he worked on ground zero for months and developed health problems. he was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer. he joins me along with sanjay gupta who has been reporting on the issue. i find it stunning it took this

long for this issue to be passed. when you heard these cancers would be included. how did you feel? >> listen, anderson. myself i'm happy to be here. it took 11 years to get here at this point. it's much too long for the families left behind. i'm glad we're here. let's move forward. let's get studies going. those who need treatment treatment they desperately need and let not forget those who passed away and unfortunately what happened today comes much too late for them. >> sanjay, this news brings relief to a lot of workers suffering with cancer after 9/11. what prompted change in coverage? >> the best we could put it together. this issue was addressed by the organization that oversees this. at that time they said cancers would not be on the list. >> this is new. what prompted it was a study that looked specifically at firefighters.

this is important, anderson. you have very good health records for firefighters. they could determine what the health was before 9/11 and they could determine what it was like in the immediate aftermath and so forth. they looked at that data carefully in 2011, ten years later, they found there was an increased likelihood of developing cancer. about 19% increased likelihood. and talk about all cancers even those brewing shortly after 9/11, you found the increase was 32%. i think it was that particular study more than anything else that created this change, anderson. >> sanjay, it is kind of remarkable, that given all of the money that was raised and donated and set aside by the government for this. that they would not include these first responders, who risked their lives and a great toll to themselves and were, early on, saying i'm pretty sure this has had an impact on my health. what do you think it took for them to make the decision to

cover health care costs? >> and specifically, cancer. because that was the biggest sort of difficult thing and the source of a lot of controversy. obviously some of the other health conditions such as some respiratory conditions were more easily covered. and kenny said, it was difficult in all sorts of health conditions. i think with regard to cancer specifically, it's hard to establish what scientists would love to have, which is a cause and effect. you see all of that toxic dust. you see the conditions after 9/11 and you say, did that cause cancer? did that set up these cancers in people's bodies? and i think if you talk to some of the scientists, they'll still say look, it's hard to absolutely prove that, but they have enough data showing that in fact the numbers did go up. there was no precedent for this. i think that's part of why it took so long. >> it also seemed so unfair. firefighters and police officers, and port authority officials department say, you

know what, i'm not going to go down on the pile unless i get a breathing apparatus. they went there. people responded right away and stayed there for months and months and months. >> you know what, anderson there was a job that needed to get done. again speaking for myself. i'm sure i can speak for much, if not all of the new york city fire department. it was an honor to be down at the world trade center. it was something we needed to do. sanjay brings up a good point. and i think the disappointment we had was going to these physicians and listening to exactly what he just said, that we had no -- they had no baseline to fall back on. they wanted to compare us to coal miners, they said there's a certain amount of time before a coal miner contracted some sort of lung cancer. this was not a coal mine type situation. we needed physicians to expand the way they thought. we needed them to say we can't wait for any information from the past, because there was

nothing we could fall back on. we had to move forward on this as a singular incident and start treating the people. it became clear shortly after the world trade center and certainly around 2007 and 2008, that we had a big problem we were facing, and we needed to face it as it was. a world trade center incident situation much not something from the '40s or '50s in a chemical plant or coal mine. and i think that's why it took so long to get to this point. they wanted evidence that was presented to them in the past. there was nothing like this that ever happened before. >> sanjay, you were covering this topic for years now. i remember you studied the contents of the actual dust from 9/11. what did you find? how toxic was it? what was in it? >> it was something they've never seen before. i don't say that lightly. obvious we have scientists studying this for ten years. but the combination of all these various materials, compounded

with jet fuel which raised the temperature of these materials to extraordinary temperatures. but there were clearly some carcinogens, which are substances that can cause cancer. those dust particles contained those chemicals and acted as vehicles, keeping them in the air and transporting them over significant distances. it was pretty toxic stuff. >> and kenny, to your credit, you said it was an honor to serve there. at the time, could you tell you were breathing in this stuff? >> absolutely. >> you knew? >> i remember down in washington, d.c., about a year and a half ago, i had an opportunity to speak. i said you know what i remember about the world trade center? the smoke that was emanating from the site, there was a time, anderson it wasn't black or gray anymore, it was green. and really, as somebody that had been fighting fires, not forever, i wasn't a firefighter for a long time before september 11th, only six years. regular burning of regular

materials, the type of fires we were fighting in the city of new york, the smoke was black or the smoke was gray or the smoke was white. just from the color of the smoke emanating from the world trade center site, we could tell the work we were doing was going to lead to a problem later on, down the line. we in an environment no one was familiar with. that the stuff, the toxins that were burning, they were giving off a smell that we weren't familiar with. the feel to the dust down there. the stuff sticking to our uniforms and equipment. really we needed more than the fire fighting gear we provided with. a lot of stuff our bodies took in was through our pores. the equipment we were provided with, this was a toxic incident that really required hazardous material entry suits. situations like this, you don't walk into with just regular firefighting gear. our gear sucked it up, passed through our gear into our skin, into our pore, our nose, our mouth.

24 this is why we have a lot of gastrointestinal issues today. really, anderson, you could tell as a reasonable person at the world trade center, what we were dealing with was not a regular fire, therefore not regular smoke. >> yet you and your comrades continued on. kenny, i appreciate you, not only your service then, but your continued service to all of those still living and those who have passed. thank you so much. >> not me. let's remember tomorrow, let's remember the sacrifice of all of those who participated and again, it was my pleasure. thanks for having me. >> sanjay, thanks as well. >> thank you. >> just remember, tomorrow and every day. frankly. let us know what you think. we're on facebook. or follow me on twitter twitter, @andersoncooper. i'll be tweeting in the hour ahead. up next, the romney campaign said it's all about the economy. that's what they're running on so far. but what does the economy have to do with keeping god on the u.s. currency or abortion? other issue the campaign is pushing these days. we're keeping them honest.

[ male announcer ] when a major hospital wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ] hey, bro. or engaging. conversations help us learn and grow. at wells fargo, we believe you can never underestimate the power of a conversation. it's this exchange of ideas that helps you move ahead with confidence. so when the conversation turns to your financial goals... turn to us. if you need anything else, let me know. [ female announcer ] wells fargo.

together we'll go far. but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! why they have a thraise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 70% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. are we there yet? are we there yet? [ male announcer ] it's the age-old question of travel. the same one we ask ourselves every day. is it the strongest, the most efficient?

have we created the kind of vehicle to move not just people... but an industry forward? are we there yet? are we really? [ male announcer ] are we there yet? we are, for now. introducing the all-new seven passenger gl. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. there's new polling in president obama's bounce. first keeping them honest with the romney campaign's election. the question tonight, have the romney forces been moving away from dollars and cents and jobs, shifting towards more red meat hot button mode. the economy is first and center. if you've been watching mitt romney, you've been hearing about other issues as well.

>> i will not take god out of the name of our platform. i will not take god off our coins and i will not take god out of my heart. >> that was mitt romney in virginia, on saturday. campaigning with the 700 club's pat robertson, subjecting that president obama was somehow planning to take god off the currency. in fairness, mitt romney opened up with three sentences about the jobless numbers and then got on the talk about god. then talked about president obama's policy spends his time on talking about the economy. when they asked what he was actually saying. the campaign manager certainly repeated the talking point. he said the subject has been the

economy, is the economy and will be the economy. mitt romney doesn't want to change the subject. he wants to change the economy and that's what he's going to do as president. to be fair, fair enough. that's the message that they want us to get. but that's not all coming from the candidate on the campaign trail. here's governor romney today in ohio. >> when and if i become president of the united states, i will not take god out of my heart, i will not take god out of the public square, and i will not take it out of the platform of my party. >> well, the coin reference has gone away, but again his plan for the economy came last. once he got there, he went into detail, but his rhetorical road to the economy took the scenic route through the pentagon and especially the bible belt. and also nascar country. right after stumping with pat robertson, mitt romney made a pit stop at the international raceway signing autographs on

saturday night. he also kicked often the weekend in iowa. endorsing steve king, outspoken and controversial conservative. you can agree or not with congressman king. and talk about their focus on abortion and same-sex marriage, you can believe the religion de serves a bigger role in the public or not. you can recognize the political rhetoric just like a good story or good sermon doesn't always get straight to the point. but either way the real message has been the economy. even before today a month and a day ago. to be precise, they were running this ad. >> when religious freedom is threatened, who do you want to stand with? >> i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. >> if the romney campaign has been zeroing in on conservatives lately, and not so much the economy, recent polling could help explain why. as we mentioned, there's this new cnn number out tonight. president obama is bouncing up six points among likely voters.

last week the race was tied. mr. romney got a one-point bounce and while some voters will feel a bit of a sugar high from the convention the basic structure of the race has not changed significant limit that's the question, hasn't changed. but that's the question, has it changed and what has recent polling revealed about the romney campaign strategy. let's talk about it with john king and senior romney adviser babe buchanan. babe, the romney campaign is set from the start. this is all about the economy. in the last couple days we've seen mitt romney endorse steve king. talk about -- appear on a stage with pat robertson, talk about not taking "god we trust" off the currency, although no democrat has suggested taking god off the currency or coins. is he all over the place now, or what is he doing here? >> no, i think it's clear the election comes down to the economy. the governor is strong on that issue.

certainly far more knowledgeable in how to turn the country around than the president is, that's proven. however that doesn't mean that we don't talk about other issues. i think it's clear from our two conventions that the two parties really have a -- really are separate this year. they are moving in two different directions. it's important that the voters understand what we represent as republicans and he as the leader of our party. and what barack obama really represents. i think it's legitimate to make certain that the voter understands that the democrats have really moved far, far to the left. >> bill is this a culture war? rallying the base? >> well, i do agree with bay that the conventions showed two very die verge end paths democrats and republicans want to take right now. the problem for mitt romney is that on the economy, the issue he said he wanted to talk about this entire election. he's losing ground every single

day. coming out of those two convention the american people said i like president obama's direction better. when you look at the cnn poll that you guys have out. look inside the numbers. when president obama is beating you by 20 points on who cares most about issues that affect the middle class, you can see why mitt romney would like to talk about anything else besides the issues that he said he wanted to be talking about right now. >> anderson, can i respond to the poll? that's as bogus of a poll i've ever seen, particularly from the two points here. mitt romney is winning 97% of republicans. that's not too surprising. and we're winning independents by 14 points. i don't know how you put those two factors together and come out that mitt romney is somehow losing this. because on election day, if we win independents by 14, and clean sweep republicans, this will be an exciting day for republican -- for mitt romney. >> john, let me bring you in here, last week we talked about

the language we heard at the republican national convention. hard work, welfare reform. values. seems the type of talk to resonate with white working voters. mitt romney is winning over those. but do we see them double down? >> yes, you'll see both double down on reaching the base. both view this mostly as a base election. find your voters, grab them by the ear and turn them out. when you see him with pat robertson in virginia, there are other constituencies, but christian conservatives in vermont are very important. when you see him with steve king in iowa, cultural conservatives are important to governor romney. to bay's point about the poll, a lot of people question every poll. but the reason those numbers exist in our poll, the president now plus six is that after his convention, democratic intensity, enthusiasm is up and republican enthusiasm is down. yes, governor romney is winning among dependents but there's a

temporary enthusiasm shift in favor of the democrats. we'll see if it lasts. anderson, one more point, i was getting e-mails saying the democrats are overplaying their hands. look at these numbers, which candidate shares your values. the president has a seven-point advantage. 51% to 42% says the president has your values. two weeks ago it was essentially a tie. >> at least at the moment, nationally, if the talk was supposed to hurt the president, if conservatives thought it t would it hasn't nationally. we picked president state by state and the people of north carolina sometimes think differently than the people of california. >> bay, the romney campaign putting out a statement, the obama came got a bounce that was a sugar high. is it a sugar high? >> it is.

being in the business as long as i have, john will confirm it. you expect candidates to get a bounce from their convention. there's no surprise there. three who day, night, all kinds of attention. really showcasing your best leaders. of course you expect that. now the voters come back and start looking. the key is the nine or the ten swing states. where are people moving there? i see nothing but momentum for mitt romney and states, terrific momentum as he closed the last couple months. all kinds of different gaps, likability is up with presidents. likability comes down. these are important factors which play into the final number on election day. >> and bill, in those swing states, the battleground states, republicans are getting ready to spend a huge amount of money on ads. are they going to outspend you guys? >> they are definitely able to outspend democrats. already going into the convention week, republicans were up 4, 3-1 in a lot of swing states. even so those numbers have not

moved into the direction that bay suggests. the president has gotten a stronger position in all of these states from ohio to virginia to florida. that said, i do agree that the energy and enthusiasm coming out of conventions can be a very temporary thing. this will be close all of the way through. the debates will matter and whatever events that come up between here and election day that we can't predict really matters. right now the fundamentals set. where voters do believe the president is more on the side of the middle class and does have the kind of values that mirror the american people's values. >> if is t is a sugar high for the romney campaign or traditional bounds, is it insignificant? >> no, it's not. because of the things beneath it. here's another one. bill talked about the middle class numbers. the president went way up. i showed the president has a strong position. here's one, if this number holds, i don't think it will. we'll have a blowout on election day. among likely voters, men.

president obama now at 48%. president romney at 47%. just a week ago, governor romney was up a dozen points. republicans traditionally win men, democrats win women. coming out of the democratic convention, the president is in a statistical tie among men. i would suspect based on everything in our recent history, i'm not buying what the romney campaign says, but everything in recent history says that probably is a bit of a sugar high. if that holds, wow. whatever the campaigns do, we are focusing all week on the campaign. we asked voters what their top concerns are, what keeps you up at night. next, housing. meltdown that triggered the recession, what each candidate says they'll do to fix it. meet one man trying to fix his home and another trying to help him keep it. to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions...

...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... i'm also a survivor of ovarian a writand uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick...and then i got better. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet?

by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco.

in chicago, mess of a monday. contract talks stall. nearly 30,000 public schoolteachers go on strike. where does that leave 350,000 students and their parents? ya ks aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪

we talked a bit about the romney campaign saying what is their number one issue. the fact is it doesn't matter what they think, only what the voters think. two in three voters think economic conditions poor. that's not all they say. we asked what are their top five concerns about the economy. what keeps you up at night? we'll showcase those things every night this week, and try to get answers about president obama and mitt romney's plans for addressing those concerns. tonight we look at the fifth issue, housing. according to cnn money, about 30% of home owners owe more on their mortgages than homes are worth. 30%. others have lost jobs. tonight a home owner in trouble and community activist. his group works to bring payments back into reach. >> what keeps me up at night are home owners losing their homes and lives being devastated. i get calls from home owners

every day. sometimes late at night because people have my personal phone number. they call and say i'm losing my home. i'm trying to work with the bank and they refuse to modify my mortgage. the government's not there, i'm out there alone, what do i do? we've helped over 200,000 families modify their mortgages and we're working with a lot more getting it done. because we have legally binding agreements with all the major lenneders and investors to get it done. >> it's a modest home, but we like it. >> it's ours. >> yeah, it's ours. >> almost immediately after we bought the house, the value dropped. within months. i threw my hands um, i said, you have to be kidding me. we were making payments until the point she lost her job. once you fall behind it snowballs from there. with that interest rate and the amount i was paying it proved to be difficult. >> we do what the banks should

do. that's why the same day we're able to get people's mortgages modified. if you modify someone's home and they save over $600 a month in the mortgage payment that's the best economic stimulus you could possibly have. and that's what the banks and government have to do. because we're never going to get out of this mortgage crisis. it has to happen because the alternative is not acceptable when you have millions of home owners out there who are going to lose their home. and that is the biggest pull on the economy. >> back with john king and dan lothian traveling with the president and jim costa with the romney campaign. in terms of the electoral map, how does the housing issue impact both candidates? you said it will come down to a few king states. >> no question. there's been a national crisis. guess what, some of those happen to be in the key swing states.

this is foreclosures across the country. if you're seeing light there aren't a lot of foreclosures. let's look here. you see a lot in florida, in michigan, a lot in this part of ohio. a lot in the corners of nevada, northwest corner here. i want to do something. look at these. those are all swing states, florida, ohio, michigan. nevada. watch when we do this. take this off and turn this on. this is guy buy county, presidential four years ago by county. look where i circled. important to the president, important to the president up here and down here. you can make the case the problem is exacerbated. higher foreclosures in places around the country critical to the president. one more point i want to take if you take this out. look nationally at home prices down 166,000 when the president took office. 151,000 now. now down 30% in nevada. 20% in florida. battleground state. 7% in ohio and 5% in virginia. in each of these states they started to come back up. if you're going through the

obama presidency. housing is a problem in the battleground states. >> and republicans are making the argument that president obama is to blame for the bleak economic picture including the housing market. how does the president respond to that? >> the answer has been, the overall economy, the housing crisis is part of that. these problems were in the making long before the president took office. they got worse. but the president helped to stabilize the situation. they point the steps he's taken shortly after he took office. two programs rolled out to help home owners struggling. they were supposed to help 9 million homeowners, own will a couple million were helped. nonetheless, there's something the president was doing, they point at. a $26 billion settlement with five big banks to help the homeowners, a dozen other programs the president rolled out as well.

the short answer is, they believe the president has taken some steps to create a floor to keep the situation from falling further. but there are others that think the president could have done a lot more. >> how much do you hear from romney on the stump about housing? >> obviously he doesn't talk about the housing issue that much. one thing that came up lately is about mortgage reductions. he's been pressed to specific how he would limit the mortgage deduction for high income earners, that's something he said woe do in order to pay for tax cuts as part of the overall economic plan. he hasn't play out exact specifics. if you dig into the romney housing plan he talks about things like reforming fannie mae and freddie mac. but a lot is overshadowed by what he told the las vegas review journal in late 2011 in all of places, the foreclosure capital of nevada. here's what he had to say. >> as to what to do for the

housing industry specifically -- are there things you can do to encourage housing? one don't stop the foreclosure process. let it run its course, hit the bottom. allow investors too buy homes, fix the homes up and let it turn around and come back up. >> the shorter romney response on this issue, i think is quite clearly what has president obama done to fix the housing problem in this country. >> and, john, you said the cost of housing plays big in two forces of the electorate. how so? >> ask people what is bugging them. it's national crisis housing. this vase settled in the goal states. you ask people about the economy. what are the two defining questions in the presidential election? is the country on the right track? a lot of people question the american dream. you bought your house, pass it on to your children. you knew the next generation would do better than you. >> talk about those issues, they are down about that. uncertain about that. why? if you go back ten year and some people question the wisdom. the house is how you financed

your life. it's how you refinanced and took vacation. the crisis is not just your house. you look down the neighborhood and see prices down. that contributes to the economic funk that you still find when you visit many of these states. >> john king, appreciate it. thanks very much. following a number of important stories. we have more, from isha. >> it may be a major blow to the terrorist group al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. arabian sources said they killed the second in command of that organization. they're waiting for dna tests to confirm it's him. the mayor of trenton new jersey was arrested accused of accepting bribes. federal prosecutors said tony mack took cash payments from a developer who wanted to build on city property. and it's the video that's gone viral. the owner of a florida pizza shop that was so excited about meeting president obama yesterday, that he gave him a bear hug and picked him up off

the floor. could someone actually do that to the commander in chief? he stopped by the "situation room" and explained to wolf blitzer how it all happened. >> i guess i got caught up in the moment. i had a brief moment, when i knew he was coming, he opened up the door, he was like, where's scott at. as soon as i saw him, he came right at me, shook my hand. and i was just so excited i just gave him a big hug and picked him up. it was crazy. >> just kind of what i want to do when i see you most times. >> yeah. i actually talked to him on the daytime talk show. we're flying him up. he's going be on the daytime talk show tomorrow. he's threatening to give me a bear hug. i'm not sure how i'm going to avoid that. >> just let him do it. >> nice to have you back, isha. where have you been? do you not love us anymore? >> you were at the convention. i saw you in charlotte. you were too busy to talk to little old me. >> not true. >> it's good to be back. tonight in chicago, a lot of angry parks trying to figure out whether kids are supposed to do

what they are supposed to do. where they are supposed to go with some 30,000 teachers on strike. it's the nation's third largest school district. is there any hope for a settlement soon? we'll look at that next. everyone has goals. take the steps to reach yours, with us

with real advice, for real goals. the us bank wealth management advisor can help you. every step of the way. from big steps, to little steps. since 1863 we've helped guide our clients, so they can take the steps to help grow, preserve, and pass along their wealth. so their footsteps can help the next generation find their own path. all of us serving you. us bank [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! [ male announcer ] when your favorite foods fight you, fight back fast with tums smoothies. so fast and smooth, you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies. trouble with a car insurance claim. [ voice of dennis ] switch to allstate.

their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ normal voice ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. are you in good hands? michael jackson's concert promoters be able to collect on an insurance policy? that's ahead.

in chicago, nearly 30,000 public schoolteachers went on strike today after ten months of contract talks collapsed. chicago is the country's third largest school district. the strike left 350,000 students

in limbo to give students a place to go while their parks at work. the school district opened 144 of the schools for part of the day. churches and other community groups are scrambling to try to help. imagine what a nightmare it is for parents. chicago police are increasing street patrols, they're worried that more kids on the streets will mean more trouble in a city where homicide has become an epidemic. ted rowlands has the story. >> reporter: anderson, a lot of parents have different concerns. some are worried about what to do with their kids tomorrow if the strike continues. others say their number one concern is the safety of their kids. this first grader spent the first day of the chicago teacher strike watching cartoons with her sister and cousins. she did not play outside because her mom said it's too dangerous. >> because anything can just happen. you don't know what will happen at any moment.

it's just nice and sunny outside, and in the end, people start shooting out of nowhere. innocent people get shot for no reason. >> gunshots fired. >> reporter: violence on the streets of chicago is bad. specifically the homicide rate which is up about 30% this year and has claimed the lives of 43 children. the prospects of a long strike leaving 350,000 kids out of school threatens to make an unthinkably bad and dangerous situation even worse. that's the biggest concern at sweet holy spirit church, one of several places open for kids during the strike. >> we got killings going on like crazy. so the parents hope is killed by the strike. the children are left hopeless, saying does anybody care about the strike? and they have to have places to go. >> reporter: in the middle of the battle between the teachers union and the school district is chicago mayor rahm emanuel, we asked him how concerned he is about children's safety during

the strike. >> the safest place for children is in the classroom. that's where i want them. as i said before, this is the strike of choice, and it's the wrong choice for our children. >> reporter: teachers say they'd rather be teaching than picketing, but say they'll keep going as long as they have to for a fair contract. >> i understand where they're coming from but i don't think the kids should have to stay home from school. i feel there should still be teachers there to teach the children. and then, you know, allow the other ones to try to get everything together. >> shots fired -- >> reporter: meanwhile extra police officers have been assigned to keep an eye on kids on the streets that have already proven to be far too deadly. >> ted, i understand they're still negotiating, any attempt to keep the strike from going another day? >> that is possible. they really didn't have that far to go before they started negotiating hours ago. we can tell you this, anderson, the board president has left the

table for the evening. the board, however, assures us they're still negotiating and a deal could be reached. of course if there is a deal we'll break into programming and report on it. >> paul ryan weighed in in support of the mayor. >> yeah, very odd this afternoon. he came out and said it's not very often. but in this case, i am right behind mayor rahm emanuel in chicago and also asked the president to weigh in. we're hearing the same plea from teachers in chicago asking the president to weigh in on their side. pressure is going to start building at the white house up until now. president obama has not weighed in on this but as the days go on, if this strike continue, the pressure at the white house will start to build. >> ted, appreciate it. thanks. still ahead, the dramatic shooting at a sikh temple in wisconsin. what police officer were dealing with when they arrived at the scene. "make someone happy" ♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪

♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪ ♪make just one heart to heart you - you sing to♪ ♪one smile that cheers you ♪one face that lights when it nears you.♪ ♪and you will be happy too.

how did i get here? dumb luck? or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions.

who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes.

i'm isha sesay with a 360 news and business bulletin. leon panetta is speaking out about the man who wrote the bin ladin book. >> i cannot tell them you can conduct these operations and then go out and write a book

about it. and -- or sell your story to the new york times. how can we run sensitive operations here that go after enemies if people are allowed to do that? >> the defense department has said it may pursue legal action of the man who wrote under the name mark owen. a man drove on to an on ramp, it was hit by a vehicle in the process of moving on to the highway. he was a 20-year veteran of the jupiter police department. we have newly obtained video of the shooting at the sikh temple in wisconsin in august. this from the dashboard camera as officers confront the shooter.

a bullet smashed into the windshield and went into the headrest. the gunman killed six people at the temple before turning the gun on himself. michael jackson's tour promoter has dropped its claim for a $17.5 million insurance policy for the late singer. just days ago, e-mails revealed that the company had doubts about jackson's health when they applied for the insurance. toys "r" us is coming out with a kid friendly tablet. it's similar to an ipad but has kid friendly apps. the price is grown up. about $150. and the back to school happy dance is getting a lot of attention online. ♪ >> she has been dancing in the street when her kids get on the bus for the last four years. but this year, yeah, this year it went viral.

>> all right. time now for the shot. we're calling this the case of the sneaky punpy. see what happens when a big dog who's having dinner turns away from his bowl. take a look. ♪ >> how great is that? >> that little one has the right idea. >> the video comes from petsami.com, it calls itself an animal entertainment network. coming up, did you notice there was something a little different about wolf blitzer today? was it the beard? what was it? we'll explain, the ridiculist is next. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing.

what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens,

you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer.

time for the "ridiculist." i don't know if you were watching earlier today, but we got our first look at cnn's brand new state of the art washington, d.c., studio. there's wolf blitzer doing the ribbon cutting. it's got 109 monitors, three video walls, congratulations to the folks in d.c. here in new york, i think the vending machine supply of cheeze-its has just been replenished. >> i know, wolf, a lost people tuned in and are watching. >> love the new situation. thanks very much.

moments after former president bill clinton's convention speech, our own contributor predicted president obama -- >> whoa whoa whoa whoa wait! hold up. is it just me or something different about wolf blitzer. i can't put my finger on it. did he get a hair cut or something? has he been working out? there's just -- i don't know. there's just something -- oh, you know what? i think i know what it is. it would seem that mr. wolf blitzer got himself some new glasses. i don't know perhaps he saw someone wearing them, liked them and decided to pick up a pair for himself. i wonder where he could have possibly gotten that idea. i don't want to accuse wolf blitzer going all single white female on me. but these glasses kind of my thing. no one, i mean no one else has them, except, of course, for elvis costello, johnny depp, robert downey jr., of course even snooki.

come on, i'm the only one on cnn who rocks these glasses. okay, maybe tom foreman has them too. he may have had them before either of us. he's the trend setter. tom foreman is the johnny depp of cnn. we're not the only one who noticed wolf's new look. if you googled wolf's glasses before today. this is about all you would come up with. wine glasses with wolves on them. if you google wolf glasses now. it's blitzer's new look all over the place. on the blogs, the news sites, twitter, facebook. it's everywhere. there's probably a tumblr thing about it. i'm not sure what tumblr is, but i'm sure there's one about it. i like the new glasses. one thing they really complement wolf's skinny jeans. and i hope he gets the warm generous reaction i received when i got my glasses a couple years ago. >> here's what i love. i love that you clearly got the nerdiest glasses you could.